Valentine’s Day Bazaar Feature: A Wide World of Wonder

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner - and we’re so excited to feature a brand that will spark creativity, love, and imagination in your littles! Asbury Park Valentine’s Bazaar event sponsor A Wide World of Wonder features carefully curated sensory-based kits - and we think they are the PERFECT gift for your children or any kiddos for Valentine’s Day. Learn more in our interview with A Wide World of Wonder founder Jessica Jenkins below. Be sure to stop by their booth on Saturday, Feb 11th from 12-6 PM to check out their sensory kits and kinetic sand bins and play dough bins set up for sensory play!

Tell us more about yourself and a fun fact!

Hi! My name is Jessica Jenkins and I am the founder of “A Wide World of Wonder!” My family and I have lived in Red Bank since 2013 and we love everything about Monmouth County, particularly the parks system and beaches. Having grown up on the eastern end of Long Island, I crave all things nature and Monmouth County checks off all the boxes my family and I were looking for. Aside from our pool, the ocean is our second home year round!

I absolutely LOVE my job as a school principal in New York City and a fun fact about myself is that I've created - from the ground up - two public schools under two different mayors. This involved writing lengthy proposals, writing curriculum, and seeing the project through to completion, including designing the spaces!

Fast forward to the start of A Wide World of Wonder! I became incredibly interested in sensory play when I gave birth to my identical twin sons, who we consider miracles after a long and arduous journey. At 18 months, I noticed some sensory issues, which prompted me to call for an early intervention evaluation. My instincts were right; Cameron and Chase were prescribed occupational therapy. Although I was nervous at first, the experience was life-changing for the entire family. Our OT sessions - while designed to address Cameron and Chase’s sensory issues - ended up being tremendous learning opportunities for me.

My children craved sensory input.

Between 18 months and 3 years of age, I spent hours on end designing and creating sensory experiences for my kids. While the great outdoors was our first choice, I found countless ways to incorporate sensory activities into our day-to-day routine at home. I began to experiment with beach sand and wound up with our own version of kinetic sand. Needless to say, this was another home run in our house, which simultaneously had therapeutic effects on this momma bear too! I then graduated to cheffing up homemade play dough and watched Cameron and Chase kneading, designing, and constructing for hours on end. Little did I know there was an entire market out there dedicated to sensory play! This is when “A Wide World of Wonder” was born. My twins are 5 now and no longer need OT. In fact, it turn out that adults benefit from it too.

Tell us more about your company and your products.

Our carefully curated sensory-based kits are built around the innate sense of wonder in our children. All children need the freedom of exploration and discovery in order to build a strong foundation for emotional and cognitive learning. Our sensory kits deepen curiosity, creativity, confidence and connection. Wide World of Wonder packages magic that is multi-sensory, real, and open-ended via home-made play dough or kinetic sand! We embrace those fleeting years filled with magic, discovery and wonder and hold a firm belief that children need to be given the time and space to explore and question the world around them. Each kit enthusiastically immerses our children in learning as they delight in being amazed at what they discover. While we have themes to each kit, sensory push-pop, and jars, anything can be customized. Ice cream kits, candy shops (sugar free, of course!), pirate island, a day at the beach, and under the sea are just a few of the sensory kits we design and create.

What is the mission of your business?

We believe in the power of sensory play and the exponential benefits it has on children. Our mission is to create and deliver sensory experiences that foster curiosity and activate the senses. We believe that wonder is the spark that propels children to explore further and question the world around them. Our sensory kits encourage child-directed and child-initiated play that is imaginative and ignites a sense of wonder in the world around them.

What did you do before launching your business?

I’m still a school principal and plan to be for at least 10 more years! I love what I do but I have found my true passion through this new business. Since my children inspired me to “package the magic,” they are why I am so passionate about it. I consider myself a life-long learner and I believe that my 23 years of experience as an educator has contributed significantly to building my business. Oftentimes, customers will reach out to me for advice or direction regarding sensory needs. This is the most rewarding part of the work!

How did you come up with the name of your business?

My 5 year olds actually did! They are full of wonder and awe. Every experience is magical for them, whether it be playing with kinetic sand, designing science experiments, or walking through the woods collecting leaves. A Wide World of Wonder captured their day-to-day perfectly, and I was pretty confident that it might capture the day-to-day for other families as well!

What are some goals you have for the future?

I would love to get my sensory products into schools as well as help schools design designated sensory spaces. While I realize there are major companies already doing this work for schools, I would love to serve as a thought partner for the local school systems and for school leaders who haven’t yet thought of bringing a sensory room to their buildings! Many people aren’t aware that sensory experiences are for everyone.

What is your favorite thing about the Bazaar?

This is my first Valentine’s Bazaar at the Asbury Hotel. My first experience with Jenny was at the Bayshore Bazaar which was incredibly successful and so well run. After that experience, I was thrilled to become a sponsor for the Valentine’s Day Bazaar and if given the opportunity, I look forward to continuing this sponsorship for all future Asbury Bazaars!

What is your favorite way to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

My favorite way to celebrate Valentine’s Day is to spend quality, screen-free time with my twins and husband. This means having all of our favorite foods out, playing family games, and savoring every moment. As I mentioned earlier, my twins are miracle babies, born after more than 8 rounds of IVF. Needless to say, Valentine’s Day is significant to me on a very personal level.

What are you most looking forward to at Asbury Park Valentine’s Bazaar?

I love meeting like-minded small business owners and the customers who appreciate the passion we all put into our craft. As soon as I met Jenny at the Bayshore Bazaar, I knew that A Wide World of Wonder would be a great addition to her awesome vision. Stop by our table to see us and bring along your little (and big) kiddos! In addition to having our most popular sensory kits available for purchase, we will also have kinetic sand bins and play dough bins out for your kiddo’s to explore.

Thank you so much to Jessica for taking the time to do this interview and for being an event sponsor of Asbury Park Valentine’s Bazaar at Asbury Hotel. Be sure to stop by A Wide World of Wonder ‘s booth in the main event space from 12-6 PM! They’ll have sensory kits for sale, as well as sensory bins set up for play! See you there! Learn more about A Wide World of Wonder here.